Sunday 9 August 2020

Mental Health In Music: My Perspective

I was going to write a review this evening but then I decided to take a slightly different approach. Last year I curated (in a loose sense) an interview series that focused on mental health in music. In the series, I was able to get perspectives from friends and those who would later become friends, that are involved in heavy music of one form or another. With the blog approaching a major milestone this year, I've been reflecting on what that series of interviews meant to me and also on how the last 6-12 months have affected me as an individual.


At this point I want to caveat this post by saying that what I've experienced over the last twelve months pale's in comparison to what my interviewees experienced, so I'm not trying to jump on any bandwagon. I've not been as active in terms of writing, on a regular basis especially, over the first half of this year and I've attributed that to stress I've felt in my day-job. The last few months of 2019 and the first half of 2020 were pretty tough, especially given the changes brought about by the current global pandemic.


It's taken me until now to recognise the stress that I felt and thankfully, now that I have a much clearer head, I feel that I can talk about it and in doing so, can push forward with the blog with renewed energy. I've got some ideas that I hope will start to come to fruition over the remainder of 2020 and I certainly feel more inspired. Looking back, I'm also extremely proud of the amount of traction the 'Mental Health In Music' series gained last year. 


I've never really seen myself as a proper music "journalist" (mainly because I'm not that self-absorbed) but that doesn't mean that I can't feel a sense of ambition. I'm not content with writing clickbait articles or stirring up muck through sensationalist stories (I'll leave that to the bigger sites), instead I want to write about more positive things and about the success stories of underground punk and heavy music. Here's to a renewed sense of self and self-believe. 

2 comments:

  1. Nothing but love for all that you do.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Dave, right back at you! Thank you for your support and patience over the years. I'm not going anywhere!

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